TEAM

Saima Riazuddin, PhD, MPH, MBA

Academic Title: Professor
Primary Appointment: Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery
Secondary Appointment(s): Biochemistry Molecular Biology
Administrative Title: Co-Director for Academic Development
sriazuddin@som.umaryland.edu

Dr. Saima Riazuddin earned her PhD degree from the University of Punjab, Pakistan. She completed her pre-doctoral and postdoctoral training at the National Institute for Deafness and Communication Disorders, NIDCD/NIH. In 2009 she joined the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio as an Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology and Human Genetics. She was subsequently promoted to Associate Professor and tenured in 2013. In 2014, Dr. Riazuddin joined the University of Maryland as an Associate Professor of Otorhinolaryngology and Biochemistry, where she was promoted to Professor in 2016. Dr. Riazuddin’s lab is engaged in inner ear and brain research. She utilizes, human genetics, mouse, and zebrafish model systems to identify genes responsible for various inherited disorders in humans. The results of her research are published in Nature Genetics, Cell, Journal of Clinical Investigation, PLoS Genetics, and Molecular Psychiatry.  Dr Riazuddin’s scientific accomplishments have earned several national and international awards, including a Medal of Honor by the President of Pakistan.

Zubair M. Ahmed, PhD

Academic Title: Professor
Primary Appointment: Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery
Secondary Appointment(s): Biochemistry Molecular Biology, Ophthalmology
Administrative Title: Co-Director for Academic Development
zmahmed@som.umaryland.edu

Dr. Ahmed received his Bachelor’s and PhD degrees from the University of Punjab, Pakistan. He accomplished his pre-doctoral as well as his post-doctoral training at the National Institute for Deafness and Communication Disorders, NIDCD/NIH. In 2009 he joined the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio as an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, and Human Genetics. He was subsequently promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2013. In July 2014, Dr. Ahmed joined the University of Maryland as an Associate Professor of Otorhinolaryngology, Ophthalmology, and Biochemistry. In July 2016, Dr. Ahmed was promoted to Professor rank. Dr. Ahmed’s scientific accomplishments have earned several national and international awards, including the Career Development Award by the RPB Foundation and a Medal of Honor by the President of Pakistan. He has been continuously funded as a principal investigator since 2007. Dr. Ahmed’s long-term goal is to understand how the retinal and inner ear sensory epithelia develop and function. His lab studies inherited human disorders of the retina and inner ear, like Usher syndrome (USH) and Oculocutaneous Albinism (OCA) to improve our understanding of these organs at the molecular level, to study the pathophysiology of these disorders in animal models to develop new strategies to prevent and treat these neurosensory disorders.

Sehar Riaz, MPhil

Ph.D.  Research Fellow ( From 2019 to present)
Sriaz@som.umaryland.edu

Sehar Riaz is enrolled as a Ph.D. scholar in Molecular Biology, CEMB, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. For Ph.D. research work she Joined Prof. Ahmed’s lab at UMB in May 2019. Sehar is an expert in performing wet lab experiments, including the characterization of vision phenotype in a mouse model through electroretinography (ERG), optical coherence tomography (OCT), immunohistochemistry (IHC), western blot analysis (IB), confocal and high-resolution electron microscopic imaging (TEM). She is also skilled in generating Adeno-associated viral vector-based human gene constructs, adipose-derived mesenchymal stem (MSCs) cell isolation, culturing and transfection, sub-retinal and intravitreal injections in the mouse eye, and assessments of resulting impact on the visual function. In addition, she is assessing the impact of small molecule drugs, gene editing, gene therapy, and lipid-nanoparticle approaches to treat blindness in the Usher syndrome and age-related macular degeneration mouse model (AMD). Outside of her academic pursuits, she enjoys artwork, event organization, and creative work.

Mary Hackbarth, MS

MD/PhD Student, (From 2023 to present)
Publications
Mary.hackbarth@som.umaryland.edu

Mary received a B.S. and M.S. in Biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute before joining the NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program Translational Lab in 2015. There, she investigated genetics and mechanisms of rare inborn errors of metabolism and developed her interests in clinical and translational research. Mary is currently an M.D./Ph.D. student at the University of Maryland Baltimore and joined the Ahmed Lab in August 2023 as a graduate student in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program. Her projects focus on the retinal manifestations of Usher Syndrome and related genetic conditions. Mary is passionate about patient advocacy in rare diseases, medical ethics, and science education. Outside the lab, Mary enjoys spending time outdoors with her two dogs, birdwatching, gardening, and painting.

Tehmeena Akhter, Mphil

Ph.D. Research Fellow (From April 2022 to present)
takhter@som.umarryland.edu

Tehmeena opted to pursue her career in Human Genetics after earning an M.Sc. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from the University of the Punjab in 2018. She received her M. Phil in Molecular Biology from the Center of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of Punjab, in 2020, with a major focus on finding the genetic causes of inherited human disorders. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in molecular biology. In April 2022, she joined Dr. Riazuddin’s Lab as a graduate research fellow. Using the zebrafish and mouse models, she is attempting to identify and characterize the genes responsible for inherited human neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly intellectual disabilities. She is interested in investigating the impact of small pharmacological molecules on slowing the progression of neurodevelopmental disorders or even restoring normal neurological functioning. Also, she enjoys painting, playing cricket and badminton, and watching Looney Tunes.

Amna Aurang Zaib, MPhil

Ph. D Research Fellow (April 2022 to present)
azaib@som.umaryland.edu
LinkedIn

Amna Aurang Zaib (She/Her) is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Molecular Biology program at the National Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of the Punjab Lahore, Pakistan. Amna completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Zoology. She is currently a research fellow in the Otolaryngology department and works under the supervision of Dr. Riazuddin in neurodevelopmental disorders’ genetic and functional characterization. She also has experience of teaching students with special needs. She enjoys cooking, gardening, and reading outdoors in her free time.

Karen Cifuentes-Godinez, MS

PhD student, (From Sep 2023 to present)
kcifuentesgodinez@som.umaryland.edu

Karen is a second-year Ph.D. student in Molecular Medicine at the University of Maryland Baltimore. She received a B.S. in Biochemistry and Microbiology from Universidad del Valle de Guatemala. Prior joining to the Ph.D. program at UMB, she worked on the diagnosis of genetic diseases in Guatemalan patients at Universidad Mariano Galvez in Guatemala. She joined Dr Ahmed’s lab in the Fall of 2023. She is working currently in the genetics of non-syndromic oculocutaneous albinism, and she is interested in the detection and characterization of structural variants and their role in regulation and disease. Outside the lab, Karen enjoys watching documentaries about ancient civilizations and hanging out with family and friends.

Ayesha Shahbaz, MPhil

Ph. D Research Fellow (January 2024)
Ayeshashahbaz281@gmail.com

Ms. Ayesha earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pakistan. She did her Master’s in Biotechnology from the University of Punjab, Pakistan. Her research work focused on enzymes involved in cancer metabolism. She got enrolled in a Ph.D. at Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of the Punjab, Pakistan in 2022. Ms. Ayesha joined Dr. Riazuddin’s lab in January 2024 as a research fellow. Her research work focuses on the molecular genetics of Intellectual disability. Besides this, Ms. Ayesha enjoys traveling, listening to music, and cooking.

Jin-Young Koh, Ph.D

Postdoctoral Fellow, (From July 2023 to present)

NCBI  | Google Scholar
Jkoh@som.umaryland.edu

Jin-Young is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Ahmed’s lab. Her research focus is characterizing mouse models of human deafness genes and evaluating various therapeutic strategies to rescue the hearing function in the mouse model. Outside of her academic pursuits, she enjoys reading and spending time with her family. Jin-Young grew up near the East Sea in Pohang, South Korea, and earned an M.S. in Medical Science (Neuroscience) from Yonsei University, South Korea. After receiving her M.S., Jin-Young started her research in the U.S. as an RA and completed a Ph.D. in Biomedical engineering from the University of Iowa.

Danial Sutton, Ph.D

Postdoctoral Fellow, (From Oct 2023 to present)
dsutton@som.umaryland.edu

Danial Sutton is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Ahmed’s lab. He completed his B.Sc in Biology from the University of Mount Olive in 2014. He worked as a Postbac in the Lab of Dr. Tom Friedman for 2 years before attending graduate school at Baylor College of Medicine. His area of research is focused on evolutionary similarities between human and insect hearing mechanisms in Drosophila. His scientific interests include immunofluorescence, model organism research, and genetic hearing disorders.

Md Firoz Kabir, PhD

Post Doctoral Fellow (From Dec 2022 to present)
PubMed
fkabir@som.umaryland.edu

I earned a master’s in genetic engineering and biotechnology from the University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. After my master’s, I did my Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. I am an experienced human geneticist in congenital eye diseases. I have been working in molecular genetics for about 13 years. I trained as a pre-doctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. I worked on different projects, including microRNA, autophagy, and identifying pathogenic mutations that cause inherited ocular dystrophies. I have joined the Ahmed’s lab in December 2022.

Glenn Elias, MS., DVM.

Lab Manager
Gelias@som.umaryland.edu

Glenn Elias is a bilingual Veterinarian with education and expertise in animal nutrition and is experienced in conducting animal research within state-of-the-art laboratory environments. In 2021, Glenn acquired his DVM after graduating from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. Glenn’s recent research has been in poultry nutrition, where he designed experiments to test the impact of dietary probiotics as well as to analyze bacteria from egg specimens to assess public health concerns. Other research topics that Glenn has performed include the effect of a dietary prebiotic and probiotic on broiler performance and carcass yield. Glenn joined the team of Dr. Riazuddin and Dr. Ahmed’s laboratory in the Otorhinolaryngology Department at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine in August 2023, as the Laboratory Manager. Glenn’s research interest is in public health, Veterinary research topics, and Otorhinolaryngology research topics. Outside of the laboratory, Glenn enjoys cooking, reading, exploring Baltimore, traveling, making art, exercising, hiking, and visiting different restaurants and cafes with friends and family.